


Haunted Memories

by ScottieIsImpatient



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Hurt David (Camp Camp), Protective Max (Camp Camp), Swearing, characters will most likely be ooc, dadvid, dial m for jasper, emotional angst, ive never written a fanfic before ok, just david being sad, not Maxvid at all you fuckers, not jaspvid either, s3ep5, trigger for mentions of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-17 07:18:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScottieIsImpatient/pseuds/ScottieIsImpatient
Summary: Ever since the trio had burst into his cabin, claiming they knew about Jasper, David has felt... uneasy, to say the least.One week later, during a nightly stroll around, David catches the three of them attempting to row to Spooky Island. Confused, he chases after them, unknowingly reviving secrets that he thinks he'd rather not have found in the first place.(Usually I have good summaries. This time I don't. So basically, set after "Dial M for Jasper" where David catches the trio on their way to Spooky Island, ends up finding Jasper, and you already know where this is heading, don't you?)I hate the title, just an FYI





	1. It's Nothing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I've never written a fanfic before.  
Ever.  
So yep, this is my very first time writing in an already-established universe that isn't my own.  
I tried my best but the characters go a little ooc at times?? Sorry 'bout that, but bear with me.  
Please enjoy the fic! (if u can because of all the emotional angst headed ur way...)

David still isn’t exactly sure what triggers the thoughts about Jasper.

It certainly isn’t the camp itself – he _works_ here, after all.

The docks would seem like the obvious place, yet he could probably sit there all day and not even the name would cross his mind.

It could be the flagpole, now that he thinks about it, but that is yet to be determined.

David never knows when the next “Jasper-Attack” (as Max has so eagerly begun calling it) will come. All he can do is wait for it to pass by swallowing his tears and continuing through the day with determination.

Okay that’s a lie.

He deals with it by lying in bed crying for hours.

He doesn’t typically think about Jasper when doing camp activities with the kids. His mind is always too distracted to be thinking of anything other than _where has Max gone?_ and _Space-Kid don’t eat that!_ and _ohmygoodness isn’t that tree just **GORGEOUS** I wish I had my camera to take a photo of it._

Today is different, however.

“Max, Neil, look what I found!”

David is too busy trying to prevent Harrison from lighting Nerris on fire that he only gets a glimpse of Nikki and her teal hair before she darts on by.

“I told you, _I’m_ the greatest mage!” Nerris announces, throwing a handful of dice at Harrison, who raises his hands just in time to make them disappear. “You’re just a wannabe!” the boy retaliates. “Everyone knows _I’m_ the best!”

“Kids-” David starts, but Nerris interrupts him. “Guess this can only be settled by one thing…” she replies, eyes narrowing. David grimaces. “Please don-”

“A BATTLE!” the two cheerfully cry, before running off into the forest.

“Wait-!” David starts, but he’s already lost sight of them. His shoulders slump. Well, maybe if he’s lucky, they’ll only come back with a few bruises.

As long as the Quartermaster hasn’t tricked them with that “end times” stuff again.

Suddenly remembering Nikki, David turns around, eyes scanning the field in search of the trio. Nikki had exclaimed that she’d found something, and almost everything Nikki found turned out to be dangerous.

_“Don’t make me do more fucking paperwork, David_.” Gwen’s voice from this morning echoes in his mind and he gives an audible squeak.

Fortunately, the only thing he has to worry about was if one of the campers decided to crack open one of the glowsticks Nikki was holding and drink the fluid inside.

Then he reminds himself where he is and who he’s surrounded by.

_That’s a problem for the future_, he decides finally.

With the biggest grin, David strolls over towards the trio. “Watcha got there, kiddos?”

“Glowsticks!” Nikki exclaims, holding a green one up for the camp counselor. David chuckles. “Where did ya find these?”

“Counselor's cabin,” she replies casually. David frowns in confusion. “But… how?”

“I think Gwen gave them to us so we’d shut up,” Max says, an evil sparkle in his eye. David sighs. “Of course,” he mumbles under his breath. Is he really that surprised?

“They were supposed to be for tonight’s bonfire,” comes Gwen’s voice from behind them, “but then these little shits wouldn’t stop bothering me.”

“Gwen!” David exclaims, leaping forward to give her a hug. She pushes him back. “No.”

“Okay…”

Nikki attempts to snap one of the glowsticks, eager smile disappearing when it seemingly does nothing. “Aww. Was this one broken?” She hands it to Neil, who is rolling his eyes. “No, Nikki. There’s a reason they’re called _glow_sticks.”

“Yeah, duh,” the teal-haired girl scoffs. “They glow. But it’s not _glowing_ right _now_.”

“That’s because it’s not fucking dark yet,” Max snaps. “Language!” David exclaims, but his voice goes unheard.

“Oh, that makes sense!” Nikki says, tossing the cracked glowstick behind her. “They’d be more visible in the dark. That’s useful if we find ourselves trekking through the woods with nothing but our wits about us!” She grabs another glowstick from Max and sticks it in her pocket. “They light up the night!”

David twitches a bit. Where has he heard that before…?

He could swear someone physically knocked him backwards as the memory overwhelms him.

_“They’re L.A gear light-up shoes!_” Jasper’s voice is saying, but it doesn’t have the same cheerful tone as he had back then. No, this time, his voice is sad.

Jasper has his back to David as he throws his prized shoes into the fire and turns around. His blue eyes are dull and sad, yet drilling into his soul at the same time. David pulls at his suddenly-too-tight shirt collar, taking a step back when the flames start are closing in around him. _No_, he thinks. _No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry! It's my fault-_

Jasper won’t listen.

_-my fault that you-_

“David.” A voice interrupts his thoughts.

“HUH?!” He jumps back, landing on the grass with a thump.

Max is chuckling. “What, see a ghost?”

“Shut up, Max,” David mumbles, before giving an audible gasp and clapping his hand over his own mouth.

Even Gwen’s eyes bulge. David winces, turning towards Max. “Uh, I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me! I’m so sorry. I have to be more careful, I guess. Will you forgive m-?”

“Shut it, David,” the boy snaps, narrowing his eyes. “This is a victory for me. Means I’m finally getting to you.” With a smirk on his face, Max turns on his heel and strolls away, Neil and Nikki bounding up close behind.

“David,” Gwen says, extending a hand to help him to his feet, “are you feeling alright?”

“Huh? Yeah! Uh, never better!” But his voice squeaks as he says this. Gwen raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure? ‘Cause you just told the little shit to shut up, something you never do. Which is lame, to be honest.”

“It was just a slip-up!” David insists, forcing a grin. “I’ll apologize to him at dinner tonight!”

His co-counselor still doesn’t look convinced, but she sighs in defeat. “Alright. Hey, weren’t you meant to be watching the magic kids?”

His grin fades. “Oh. Yeah. Why?”

“Because I think they started a forest fire,” Gwen says flatly, jabbing her thumb towards the oak trees that are starting to smoke.

David shrieks just as Harrison and Nerris come bolting from the forest, eyes wide.

“I didn’t mean to!” Harrison claims, but David doesn’t answer him. With Gwen’s help, they manage to wrangle off the old fire extinguisher from the side of the mess hall (it still works, surprisingly), and douse the last of the flames before they can spread anywhere else.

“Phew,” David sighs, rubbing his arm across his forehead.

The empty canister falls to the ground with a hollow thunk.

“Harrison,” Gwen growls, turning towards the magic kid, “I thought I told you _not_ to use fire for your tricks.”

“It was an accident!” Harrison says before Gwen can even finish her sentence.

David gives his co-counselor a pat on the shoulder before she fully explodes. “Alrighty, I think they’ve learned their listen for today! Run along now, you two! Everyone’s at the beach, I believe.”

He almost has to physically restrain Gwen.

“Dear lord, I hate this fucking place,” she mutters, facepalming. David wags his finger. “Language, Gwen.”

“As if that’s going to work on me.”

There’s an awkward pause between them, until Gwen clears her throat and pipes up, “thank you, by the way.”

“You’re welcome!!” David says heartily. “I’m always here whenever you need me, Gwen.”

“I sure fucking hope so.”

A sudden splash comes from behind them, followed by Space Kid’s exclamation of, “it’s just like space!”

Gwen groans, already backwards-walking towards the beach. “This is my problem, now.”

“Good luck, Gwen!” David cheers, giving her a thumbs up. “CBFL’s!”

“CBFL’s,” she mutters dryly, spinning around and making a break for the each before someone drowns.

David takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a few seconds. The smell of smoke is very faint, now. They really dodged a bullet there.

“Alright, back to work!” he mumbles to himself, opening his eyes.

But it isn’t Camp Campbell that’s in front of him.

It’s Jasper, standing in the fire with his shoes.

David screeches and hops back, the image fading quickly. _Not real, not real,_ he thinks rapidly to himself, trying to catch his breath.The world spins, and he almost trips over his own feet just by straightening up, _Ugh, maybe I should just take a break…_

_No, Gwen is counting on me!_

So he heads back to work, pretending that the image of Jasper among the fire _hasn't_ just been forever burned into his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I legit wrote this, checked it over once, and posted it. So, yeah, I haven't really gone through it for errors.  
I swear I'm usually a better writer than this!
> 
> This was more of a "filler" chapter I guess, just to kick things off?? Nothing really angsty just yet. The original was much shorter so I had to lengthen it, hence the whole thing with Harrison and Nerris.


	2. Spooky Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David catches the trio as they make a run for Spooky Island and follows them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's me again! First of all, just wanted to say thanks for the kudos and the 80+ hits! I know it's not much but to me, it's a lot. People read my writing?? GASP.  
Anyway I'm gonna be updating this fic quite constantly. Mostly cuz I just wanna get this all out there and I don't want anyone to lose interest (waiting can be hard, especially if ur like me yEET)  
Chapter two is where things start kicking into gear, so get ready, hehehe...

He doesn’t know why he wakes up not even an hour after he falls asleep.

He’s still dead tired, the bonfire having sucked out all his energy but his body just refuses to go back to sleep.

Sighing, David lifts himself out of bed, careful not to wake Gwen (she _needs_ her sleep), before lacing up his boots and heading outside.

The air is still and cool, the only sound being the faint chirping of crickets and David’s own breathing.

It’s like time has stopped.

He loves it when the world is like this.

It reminds him of when he was a kid, and he would sneak out at night just to be under the stars. There wasn't really much to look at, though, given that they lived in a city back then, but he remembers how eager he used to be to wake up and see what nature was like during the hours that people were slumbering.

He starts going for a little walk around camp, something he often does when he can’t sleep. He forgot to bring a flashlight, but that doesn’t matter. He’s got this place memorized, and those faint colourful lights in the distance are just enough for him to avoid tripping on-

Wait.

Colourful lights?

David turns around, squinting.

The lights are coming from around the dock area, bobbing in between the trees. What could possibly be out here?

It’s only when he sees the silhouette of the three campers that he remembers the glowsticks from earlier that day.

“Max!” he yells, now darting down the hill at full speed. Sound travels quickly over water, and before long, he can hear the agitated groan of “fuck, he found us out.”

“Row faster!” That’s Nikki’s voice.

David screeches to a halt just inches before the end of the dock, squinting into the darkness. They’ve hidden the lights now, but if he looks carefully…

Aha! The faint blue glow gives away their position.

David knows merely telling them to come back would be fruitless, so he takes matters into his own hands and sits down in one of the canoes, untying the rope that binds it to the dock. “Don’t make me do this, kids!” he calls out, grabbing the oars. “You don’t want to make me disappointed!”

“Oh no,” Max replies sarcastically, “making_ David disappointed_? I would _never_ do that!”

As David rows after them, he begins to wonder why they’ve attempted to escape tonight of all nights. Max was hellbent on leaving for the first few weeks, but after he found some friends, there hasn’t been a word uttered about running away. Heck, back in the day, even David remembers the days _he_ wished he were back home.

But Max has seemed happy recently.

Well, happ_ier_ at least.

Emotions are hard to read on a kid who’s constantly angry.

David’s arms begin to get tired. He hasn’t always been particularly strong, and he hasn’t been pacing himself either. The kids have already made it to Spooky Island, and he’s not even halfway there. Why were they on Spooky Island anyway? What good came from going there?

“Gwen doesn’t want paperwork,” David mutters to himself behind clenched teeth.

The canoe barely skims the ground when David leaps out of it, landing with splash. He’s panting, arms shaking, but he’s not letting Max get away with this!

Whatever “this” is.

He darts into the trees without thinking, suddenly wishing that he _had_ brought a torch with him in the first place. Light shines from somewhere to his right and he whirls around, but it’s gone before he could get a good look. One thing is for certain, though; it had to be one of the trios’ glowsticks.

He’s about to follow it when a chillingly familiar voice echoes in his ear.

_“Davey?” _

“Jasper?”

David's reply is automatic and has spilled from his mouth before he can even think.

He freezes, wide eyes darting in all directions. His entire body is tense, yet his legs still collapse underneath him and he falls to his knees.

_No_, he tells himself, shaking his head. _Don’t think about him. _

The image of his best friend burning comes before his eyes anyway.

“Stop it!” David hisses out loud, smacking himself in the face to try and stop the tears. “Snap out of it, gosh darn it!”

He stumbles to his feet, panting as if he’d just run a marathon. Are the woods… darker than they were before? He doesn’t have time to dwell on that though. “Gotta find Max, Neil and Nikki,” he reminds himself. “Where would they be? Why would they even be out here?”

He continues on down the path, pretending the whole auditory hallucination thing didn’t even happen at all, haha. Nope. Not at all. Why would Jasper be appearing anyway? As a manifestation of his guilt? That’s ridiculous!!

There’s a flutter of wings as an owl takes flight. David shrieks, jumping a solid three feet in the air. Once the situation has been assessed, he calms himself down through careful breathing techniques, repeating the same thing he’s been doing for the past few minutes now: “it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine…”

The two words have become a mantra, said so often that they don’t even seem like real words anymore.

_“Davey?”_

“IT’S FINE!” David finds himself yelling, whirling around.

What, or who, rather, stands before him causes his entire body to freeze and his brain to cease functioning.

Blue eyes stare up at him, filled with both curiosity and sadness. Tousled brown hair swooping to one side, exactly as David remembers.

Jasper.

And he’s not engulfed by flames.

David takes a shaky step back at the exact same time child-Jasper takes a step towards him. “Davey, is that…?” the painfully familiar voice is hushed, as if he were trying to calm a wild animal. “…is that really you?”

An invisible entity has David’s throat clutched in his hands, cutting off his air and refusing to let him talk.

So he just stares.

Child-Jasper stares back.

It’s after fifteen seconds that David finally gives a loud screech and bolts into the trees without even thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAH I'm sorry it's so short! I wasn't originally going to split it in half, but if I did, this chapter would be twice as long and even more confusing.


	3. Jasper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio introduce David to a familiar face...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter three, bois! Thanks so much for all the kind comments, I really appreciate it!!! <3  
Anyway, this one gets... angsty, to say the least.  
Enjoy, heheh

His mind is screaming at him as he runs.

No, maybe that’s just him actually screaming.

Definitely just him actually screaming.

He doesn’t know where he’s going. Heck, he barely even knows his way _around_ Spooky Island, but his legs have a mind of their own now.

Branches whack him in the face, but he keeps running. He trips over tree roots and jutting rocks more times than he can count, but he doesn’t stop moving.

He keeps going until his knees buckle and his legs give up, sending the redhead sprawling onto rough ground. Dirt becomes mud as tears flow from his eyes.

_ Jasper_, his mind is whispering. _Jasper, Jasper, Jasper_.

This can't be possible. It has to be a trick.

The trio must have decided to have a little “fun” with him. It’s dark, and it’s not like he’s been in the best state of mind over the past few days. Neil’s got a similar hair colour to what Jasper’s was.

It _has_ to be a trick.

He wants so badly for it to be a trick.

His hands ball into fists as he finally hoists himself into a sitting position, brushing dirt from his scrapped knees and picking leaves from his hair. Now he _really_ needs to find those three. Not only for their own safety, but to give them a stern talking-to on what and is not a good prank. Perhaps he’ll explain to situation to Gwen too.

Not that he believes Max will listen, but hey, all he can do is try.

David’s still panting so he lets himself sit for a little while longer, leaning his head against the trunk of a tree as he gazes up at whatever stars manage to peek through the canopy. It’s somewhat peaceful, to be honest. Just him and nature. His mind wanders, and a smile almost makes its way onto his face.

Some bushes rustle to the left, causing him to leap to his feet, hands flying to his face on instinct. God, if only he weren’t shaking so badly.

“I-I’m friend-friendly!” He stutters out, flinching away from whatever was making the noise. _Please don’t be a bear, please don’t be a bear, please don’t be a bear_.

The pink light can’t be any brighter than a single firefly, but after being in almost pitch darkness for… well, actually, he can’t really remember, it seems blinding. When the initial shock fades, he sees Neil holding up a glowstick, Max behind him with an annoyed expression on his face, and Nikki poking her head out from behind the two of them.

David almost falls to his knees again. Fortunately, he manages to keep his posture by leaning against the tree. “Oh, thank god,” he whispers, shoulders shuttering. “Goodness. You found- I mean, I found you.”

“Well, you were screaming like a madman and making a hell of a lot of noise,” Max explains. “It didn’t really that much effort.”

David chuckles, wiping the tears from his eyes. “So… are you, like, okay?” Neil asks cautiously, looking at him up and down. David gives him a reassuring nod.

“Are you sure?" Nikki asks. "Even after... you-know."

"Wha-what are you talking about?" David chuckles nervously. A look is shared between the trio, but it's gone before he can identify the emotion.

"Don't think we don't know, David," Max accuses with a glare, but his slightly softer tone betrays him. "You saw... _him, _didn't you?"

David feels his blood go cold.

“I… what?”

“ Jasper,” Nikki states before anyone can say anything. “He told us he ran into you.”

“He… told… you?” Okay, now this trick is getting too personal.

Deep breaths, he reminds himself, but he’s already starting to hyperventilate.

“Oooh,” Nikki exclaims with a look of realization and pity on her face. “That’s right. You don’t know the whole story about his ghost and the cavern explosion and-”

“_NIKKI, SHUT **UP**_!” Max yells, but David’s already heard enough. “Cav-cavern?” He stutters out, the memories of when he last saw Jasper flying back. “You mean, the-the cavern we found…” he trails off.

“Shit,” Neil hisses. Nikki is wringing her hands together. “Oops.”

“Uh… you’re dreaming!” Max tries, but David doesn’t even respond to this.

He tries, though. He tries to look up at them, even opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out. All he can do is stare at his feet pathetically as he slowly slides to the ground again, curling his knees to his chest.

_Jasper, Jasper, Jasper…_

“Cat’s out of the bag, huh?” David hears Neil whisper. Max just gives a small grunt in response.

The three talk amongst themselves as David sits curled up by the tree, sniffling every so often. God, he should never have come out here in the first place. He just wants to be back at the counselor’s cabin, safe, with Gwen. What would Gwen do if she were here?

_“Give those little shits what they deserve!”_ imaginary-Gwen yells, and though he doesn’t approve of the language, the idea is somewhat okay. So he finally lifts his head, ready to give the trio a lecture, only to find Max staring at him.

“David,” he starts, “you’re going to fucking hate everything after I tell you what happened.”

“Oh,” is about all he can manage. So much for the lecture.

“Trust me,” Max follows up with a shrug. “And you’ll probably wanna kill yourself after, too.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. ALRIGHT, JASPER, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!” He says the last part so loudly that David winces, right before the words sink in. “Oh, god,” he hisses under his breath, as the all-too-familiar boy steps out from behind the trees.

He looks like a shy kid on his first day of school. Head bowed, one hand clutching his arm, staring at David through the hair that hung in his eyes.

“Uh, hi,” child-Jasper says. “Davey.”

David doesn’t say a word.

Because David’s now blacked out.

_“Fuck, I knew this was going to happen.” _

_“Do you think we should call someone? Like, the police? Or Gwen?” _

David can just barely make out the voices talking above him.

_“Goly, do you think this is my fault?” _

_“Shut up, Jasper. Of course it is.” _

_“Oh.” _

Jasper?

_“Guys, I see his eyes moving!” _

The voices are becoming clearer now. Among the assorted lights, shapes start to fade into his vision. Shapes of people. Kids.

“David, can you hear us?”

“Do you have any brain damage?”

“David, are you fucking alive or not?”

“Language,” he mutters in response, groaning as he rubs his head. He must’ve hit the ground hard.

A collective sigh goes around. “Well, I guess there’s no brain damage.” That’s from Neil.

He props himself up on his elbows, blinking blearily. Nikki starts waving a bright blue glowstick in his face, which he pushes away with a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

"Oh, thank god,” Max says. “If you’d died, I’d have to torture _Gwen_ for the rest of the summer, and that’s no fun.”

David starts to laugh, but it catches in his throat as he sees a fourth figure hovering a few feet away, and everything comes flooding back.

His throat is dry all of a sudden. He feels as if he might pass out again. _No, no, I won’t. No passing out, David. You’ve gotta be strong!_

_…and figure out why a childhood version of your friend is here._

“Jasper?” he asks. The boy looks up. “Yes?”

“But… but, your parents picked you up.” He pretends to ignore the collective wince that is shared between Max and Neil as he says this. “You went home and never contacted me again. I thought… you were mad at me…” his voice starts to break, and he gives a weak cough. “Davey, I…” Child-Jasper starts, but he stops himself, seemingly thinking about his next words. “I never went home,” he finally says, voice so quiet and broken David almost doesn’t catch it.

“Never… went home?” David repeats, leaning forward a little bit with his arms on his knees. “But… Campbell said…”

“Campbell is a liar and you know it,” Jasper retorts, but the emotion that shakes his voice is sadness, not anger.

“Yeah, this is uncomfortable,” Neil quips, rubbing the back of his head. Max gives him the famous Death Glare before turning to David, furrowing his brows in concern.

David never thought he’d see that expression on Max’s face.

It looks… wrong.

“When you were acting weird about Jasper the other week,” Max begins, “we asked the Quartermaster, who directed us to Spooky Island. We’d run into Jasper previously, too, back when we went exploring on the island.”

“You had a look of terror on your face for a week,” David recalls. Max shoots him a glare. “Shut up. I _saw_ things, David. Things a ten-year-old should _never_ be exposed to!”

“Calm down, home skillet,” Jasper pipes up. Max unclenches his fist.

The brief moment of silence allows David to comprehend at least some of the stuff that’s being said.

“Anyway, we ran into Jasper here again, who told us that story of how you two were sent to the island to retrieve some files for that scumbag Campbell.”

“He told us he died when a cavern he was in exploded!” Nikki exclaims, unable to help herself. “It sounded really cool! I want to die in an explosion!”

Nervous expressions scatter among the campers (plus one apparent ghost), while Nikki adopts a look of confusion. “What? What’d I say? I thought he already knew…”

David can’t comprehend this. David’s mind has exploded. His thoughts are running at lightning speed, and uncontrollable tears spill over his eyes and down his cheeks.

It was his fault after all.

_Oh god._

Getting picked up by parents, getting killed in an explosion - it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

All that matters is that _he killed Jasper_.

_If he hadn’t left Jasper alone, he wouldn’t have gone down into the cavern. _

_If he hadn’t left Jasper alone, he wouldn’t have died. _

_If he had just done things RIGHT… _

_If he’d been a better friend… _

He’s aware of voices talking from all sides, but they may as well be in another universe.

_David had killed his best friend._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I'm so sorry Nikki! I love you but I couldn't figure out another way for David to get completely overwhelmed by all this ;-;


	4. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper confesses everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters go a little OOC here, oof, sorry!

David feels his own hand clutch at his red hair, tugging more and more until strands are torn out and pain spikes along the top of his head.

_Nothing compared to Jasper’s pain. _

He grits his teeth, a muffled sob escaping from his lips. The voices around him go quiet. The world is nothing but a dark blur through his tears.

David’s hand clutches his hair tighter and now he finds himself _chuckling, _of all things. Except it gets caught in his throat and comes out more like a choked sob.

“All this time,” he’s saying, just barely audible. “All this time, I was going about my life happy, thinking you were out there somewhere.”

You could hear a pin drop.

“All this time, year after year, I’ve always gone by with a smile on my face, never once giving Campbell’s excuse for your disappearance a second thought, like the selfish idiot I am.”

He raises his head slowly, eyes screaming with rage, but not towards Jasper. Not towards the trio.

Towards himself.

“All this time I’ve had a smile on my face while _you’ve been stuck on this god-forsaken island, SUFFERING!” _His voice is raw when he screams this, each word like claws scraping against his throat. It’s gravely and rough; nothing like how he usually sounds.

“David,” Max begins, but the counselor cuts him off.

“I was happy,” he says. “A little hurt, sure, but I thought that you’d made a life somewhere else.”

David’s shoulders begin to shake, and tears start to obscure his vision again.

“Some fool I was!” he yells, raking his nails across his arms. “I should’ve known from the start,” from one hundred to zero, David’s voice is now as timid as a child, “that I never _fucking deserved_ to be happy.”

He buries his face in his arms, sobbing openly. “I killed you,” he cries weakly. “And since when do murderers get the privilege of being happy?”

The silence is uncomfortable.

Thankfully, Jasper is the one who breaks it.

“Davey,” the boy says, inching his way closer towards the counselor. “Davey, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It’s not your fault. You’re _not _a murderer.”

“It doesn’t make a difference,” is David’s muffled reply, his face buried between his arms. “I was a bad friend to you, Jasper, and I thought it only cost your camp experience. Instead, it cost your life.”

Someone is grabbing at his heart. Someone has stolen all his oxygen. Someone has taken away all control over his tears.

David shakes with sobs.

“It cost your life, all because of me.”

Jasper kneels down in front of the broken man, pretending to put a hand on his arm even though it’s physically impossible. “Davey, I went down there on my own accord. Even if you had gone with me, it probably would have cost _both _our lives.”

David can’t help it. He’s always put on a happy-go-lucky exterior, but even the cheeriest people can have the darkest thoughts.

“Who’s to say I wouldn’t be happier like that?”

Jasper gasps, withdrawing his hand as if something burned him. “Davey…”

“David, stop it!” Max snaps, interrupting for the first time and what seemed like hours. Neil and Nikki both wince in unison. “Max, what are you-”

But the boy pretends not to hear.

“Life is shitty! I know I’ve told you that before, but clearly you didn’t take it to heart. Life is full of regrets. Life is full of situations that make you want to just kill yourself and live in a void of darkness. But is it worth it in the long run?” He doesn’t wait for an answer from the stunned, open-mouth counselor. “_NO!_

“Because even though life is a constant whirlpool of regrets and depression, it’s still a _life. _And there’s got to be better days at some point in the future, because, let’s face it, whatever God is out there can’t make life hell _all _the time, can he?”

David wants to say something, but his brain refuses to let him. He can only watch with wide eyes as this rage-fueled, foul-mouthed, jaded ten-year-old, only visible thanks to green and pink glowsticks, gives _him _a life lesson.

“You say you would be happier dead, but would you _really? _You’d be leaving everything behind! You’d be leaving _this,_” Max waves his hand around rapidly, “behind! Camp Campbell, nature; hell, people in general. I may say this all the time, David, but I think it only truly applies here: _you’re so fucking stupid._”

For a long minute, the only sound they can hear is each other’s breathing. By now, the glowsticks have started to fade, and it’s getting harder to see.

David almost thought he saw tears on Max’s face.

There’s a dull thump, and now Max has collapsed to the ground with Jasper and David, head hung and fists clutching at dirt beneath him. “You’re so fucking stupid,” he repeats under his breath.

Slowly, Neil and Nikki sit down too, partly because their legs were getting tired and partly because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Nikki’s hands flop to her sides, and she’s biting her lip. Neil looks like he’d rather run away.

David looks back up at Jasper, stuttering a bit. He still doesn’t know what to _say. _All words have been lost. Any apology seems meaningless after he’d discovered the truth of what happened to his best friend.

But despite this, Jasper is smiling. A single tear rolls down his cheek as he reaches out, trying to take David’s hand. “Don’t blame yourself, Davey. Max is right.”

“I still killed you,” David mutters, rubbing his arm. Jasper narrows his eyes, shaking his head. “Nuh-uh. I don’t accept that. That’s wack, man. You were a kid. Oblivious, kind of dumb, and you had no idea what the heck you were doing anyway.”

David brings a palm to his forehead, screwing his eyes shut. “God. I just-I can’t get my head around this.”

“Yeah, took me a while too,” Jasper agrees, staring down at himself.

“So, that time you visited me, you were actually a ghost?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have much time. My soul, I guess, is kinda bound here for whatever reason, so I struggle to leave the island. And honestly, it’s kind of horrifying, considering what goes on around here…” Jasper gives a shudder.

“What?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Davey. I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being a bad friend.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” David mumbles, forcing a smile. It doesn’t quite feel right, but Jasper is nodding a him encouragingly.

“I just wish,” David sighs, “I just wish I could’ve done something… _different._”

“We can’t live in the past, duderino,” Jasper points out with a shrug. David buries his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Jasper,” he whispers.

“I am too,” comes his best friend’s reply.

There’s another period of silence, save for the sound of Max and Nikki talking quietly, while David tries to figure out this whole ghost thing. “Gah, this is… this is going to take a while,” he remarks, not really to anyone in particular. Still, when there’s no response, he feels a bit confused.

Frowning, David looks up. Jasper isn’t in front of him anymore.

“Jasper?” he calls slowly, glancing around. No response. Panic fills his chest as he begins to wonder if it was all a hallucination, and he somehow hit his head and is now stranded on Spooky Island in the middle of the night and-

“David.”

It’s Max.

The boy is now on his feet, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. “Jasper disappeared,” he says.

“Wh-what?”

“He went _poof,_” Nikki adds helpfully. “He was smiling as he slowly became invisible.”

“I think he passed on,” Neil offers, obviously still trying to find the science behind everything.

“He’s at peace, David,” Max says.

He’s smiling.

David has to blink to make sure he isn’t seeing things. Max… is _smiling? _A true, genuine smile, too, not the smile he usually bears after messing up the camp or torturing the counselors.

Before he knows it, David finds himself smiling too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max giving David a life lesson while illuminated by fuckin glowsticks  
That's the shit  
ALSO, there's gonna be one more chapter after this, but it's gonna be more of a small epilogue than anything


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to include a cheesy-ass epilogue because WHY THE HELL NOT LMAO

It’s an agreement than none of them even need to say out loud: what happened on Spooky Island will never be mentioned again.

No one says a word as they pull the canoes back up onto shore.

None of them talk as they quietly creep back up the hill towards the camp.

Nothing is disturbed as David escorts the three back their tents.

But they refuse to go in.

"I'm cold," Nikki says in a quiet voice, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering for added effect.

The temperature is well over eighteen*.

David shakes his head. "That's not going to work, Nikki."

She scowls in response.

"Hope you have a good night, David," Neil whispers into the darkness. Max gives a small grumble in agreement. And even though David can barely see, he's confident that the smile on the young boy's face is real.

Now alone, David trudges up the hill, blinking slowly. Exhaustion had washed over him so suddenly he felt as if he could just fall asleep then and there. From somewhere in the woods, the Quartermaster gives a battle cry. David finds himself chuckling.

As David gently pushes open the cabin door, Gwen's soft snoring can be heard in the still night. She's rolled onto her side, facing away from him with the blankets tucked over her head.

David flops onto his own bed, glad to finally get the weight off his feet, but he doesn't lay down for a good while. With heavy eyes, he stares at his hands until tears begin to blur his vision. He wipes them away, telling himself he has to get to sleep so that he'll be ready for tomorrow's activities.

He's out as soon as his head hits the pillow, and just before sleep takes him away, he can swear he hears a distant voice say, _thank you._

If Gwen hears him crying that night, she doesn’t say a word.

\----

*degrees celsius. I'm Canadian y'all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading my first fanfic ever! It got a little OOC at some parts, I know, and maybe one day I'll go back to this lil story and rewrite it.  
Thanks for sticking with me! (Altho a lot of u dropped after the second chapter, no hard feelings! ^^ <3)  
Comments are well appreciated and really motivate me to write more *wink wink, nudge nudge*  
Love you all! I'll see you again soon, I'm sure!


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